Before we left, Ross received valuable advice from a colleague who had lived + worked in Asia for several years: When in doubt, when you're homesick, when times are getting tough, travel to remind yourself of why you moved abroad.

So, that's exactly what Ross and I did this past weekend. As you've read, the transition has been less than stellar and we are still waiting for several things to make our lives normal here {a working phone and our Chicago items from the movers}; because of this, we just needed to get out. Even if it meant for the day {we can't travel outside the country yet without Angel's pet passport. Crazy, I know.}.

I did some research and found this amazingly helpful article, so we picked a day trip from the list of countrysides. And we ended up at St. Albans on Sunday!

About a half hour ride from Kings Cross St. Pancras tube station, we got into town right around lunchtime. I wish I had taken a photo of the breakfast place we ate at, The Breakfast Club. Because it's been hands.down.the.best.breakfast. since we've been here. The best part about the tiny restaurant is that it offered various veggie dishes, including ones with veggie breakfast sausage!

We then walked into the city center, which boasted many shops. My favorite was Raindrops on Roses {above}. However, the most interesting part of the town was the magnificent {and I don't even know if that adjective does it justice} cathedral and park. Luckily, while the photos below show gray skies, you can't see the freezing downpour we somehow managed to ignore.

This stained glass window was my favorite part of St. Alban's Cathedral.

That blue garbage bag littered in this beautiful stream makes me so angry. Why can't people just throw out their trash here?

We couldn't let the rain stop us from taking a picture in front of the 2,000+ year-old Roman ruin in Verulamium Park.

After, we had to warm up in a nearby pub, which staked claim to the oldest pub in England. They had a fantastic squash soup, which was just what the doctor ordered after walking around in the rain all day.

So it seems that this little day trip is another doctor's order, as I felt refreshed coming back to London. This is why we are here, and I'm excited about our future day trips and international trips. Coming up shortly will be a girl vaca with my best friend to Amsterdam and a birthday celebration in Paris. As always, stay tuned. Life is a crazy ride over here ;).